What if?
by Gugelhupf
Summary: What if Miller found out about DI Hardy's condition earlier? How would it change the story? Read to find out. Lots of Alec Hardy Whump and caring Ellie Miller within!
1. Chapter 1

**_Hi everyone! I've just finished watching Broadchurch and noticed the lack of Fanfictions about it. and since I am a very sick person, I present you some shameless Hardy Whump. Can be seen as Hardy/Miller I suppose but I don't mention it._**

The story is AU from the point in the series where my Fanfiction begins.

When Alec Hardy was preparing to leave after the Dinner with the Millers, he was beginning to feel lightheaded. He hoped that a walk home would clear his head a bit and failed to notice that his wallet fell out of his jacket when he put it on.

After he had left, Ellie hugged her husband while laughing about her slightly awkward boss when she noticed his wallet on the ground.

"Oh, look - he must have left that," she told Joe while picking it up. "I'd better try to catch-"

She was interrupted by cries coming from Tom's room. She couldn't make out any words but he was obviously in distress. They both dashed up the stairs after sharing a worried glance and found their son in his bed, obviously tortured by nightmares again. They woke him up and tried to calm him down. 10 minutes and a hot chocolate later, he was calm enough to return to bed, leaving his parents to collapse exhaustedly on the sofa. Joe seemed a bit guilty and Ellie worried that he might be blaming himself for the boy's suffering. She felt it, too. They just weren't doing enough to help the boy cope with his loss.

Loss. For some reason, that reminded her of the wallet lying on the table. Though tired, she was way too upset to even think about sleeping and decided that a walk was exactly what she needed right now.

"Hey, why don't you go to bed? I'll go and return that wallet to DI Hardy and then I'll be there, too," she said softly to her husband, who also seemed very tired by now.

"Yeah, why not? Good night," he answered. Joed then stood up, yawned and stretched a bit before going upstairs. Ellie put on her jacket and started walking rather quickly toward the hotel.

When she got there, the DI was stumbling through the hotel's main entrance. She hadn't noticed he'd been this drunk and he also must've walked quite slowly. Intending to leave him alone as quickly as she could so he could keep some of his dignity, she shouted "Sir!" He didn't seem to hear her and just stumbled on. Ellie followed him inside andupstairs to his room. She found him in the bathroom in a puddle of his own blood.

"Oh shit, ohshit!" she cursed while fumbling for her mobile phone. After calling an ambulance, she made sure he was still breathing. When she tried to take his pulse, she found it racing and arrhythmic. His sweaty and pale appearance also contradicted the initial thesis of drunkenness. Ellie willed her stubborn boss to hang on until the ambulance finally arrived.

**_Not much of a cliffhanger since we all know that he survived, eh?_**

**_Tell me your thought so far!_**


	2. Chapter 2

**Hello again! Thanks to Pineapple Angel 14 for reviewing and apologies to everyone for being a lazy ass. **

**Oh, btw: Surprise: Broadchurch belongs to the BBC. I'm just a Fangirl with too much fantasy and time on my hands.**

When Alec awoke, everything was kind of fuzzy and loud. He had something over his mouth and nose. When he turned his head to the right, a very concerned-looking DS Miller came into view. She tried to reassure him when he took that thing, which turned out to be an oxygen mask, off his face.

"It's fine, we're taking you to hospital." She sounded a bit angry but he couldn't bring himself to care. Hospital meant that people were gonna find out about his heart condition.

"You can't do that!" he slurred a bit. It was getting difficult to stay awake so he let himself drift back into darkness.

When he woke up again, he was feeling less sluggish and the pain in his head came over him like a wave. He groaned loudly. When he opened his eyes, he saw Miller standing over him, he arms crossed.

"You look like shit," she said drily.

"What'm I doin' here? What're you doing here?", he slurred and tried to shield his eyes from the bright sunlight.

"You forgot your purse and when I came over to bring it to you, I found you passed out on the bathroom floor. Heart arrhythmia! You should have told me."

Damn. Miller knowing about this was exactly what he needed right now. She'd tell Scotland Yard that he was unfit for duty and he would be dismissed.

"Please," he begged, "let me finish this case. I need this case. This is my career. This is my _life_. As soon as we've solved this, I'll leave Broadchurch and you'll get my job. Just please don't tell anyone; they won't notice."

Ellie was taken aback by that statement. She had initially wanted to tell him off as soon as he woke up and then go straight to work. But his words showed how important this was to him and she couldn't shake the feeling off that this whole thing had to do with Sandbrook. She had almost two hours to get to the office anyway.

"Okay then. Start talking. How long have you been like this? What caused it?"

He sighed. Miller was asking the right questions. Perhaps one day she would become an excellent cop. But did he want to tell her the whole story? On the other hand, an ally could help him when he got dizzy and prevent others from noticing. He also needed someone to talk.

And so he talked. He told her everything he hadn't even told his daughter. When he was finished, he could barely hold back tears of injustice and loneliness.

Ellie listened to his story, sometimes interrupting him quietly to ask a question. She was full of compassion for that man, that insufferable, grumbling boss of hers and she _understood_.

When he was finished, she promised him to help under the condition that he'd undergo the surgery after the case was closed. She made him explain everything about his medication and the things he wasn't supposed to eat. After that, she still had half an hour before she had to leave and decided to get herself a coffee and a Newspaper for DI Hardy.

When Miller came back to his room, he could tell that she was upset.

"What is it?", he asked.

"Here, read this," she responded curtly and tossed the newspaper in his direction.

Alec saw the headline "My Danny" and cursed.

"We need to go to the station and sort this out," he decided and made to get up.

"Dammit, Sir! You are supposed to stay here for a couple of days. Lie back down!", Miller said but hurried over to help him stand rather than watch him fall back down anyway. She let him dress himself while she waited outside and then started leading her still slightly dizzy boss out the hospital.

Ellie knew that she'd have to be far more observant than she usually was to help this stubborn idiot get through this case. But he deserved it. Such a loving man, a man who took the fall for his wife who cheated on him just to protect her and his daughter - Ellie couldn't help admiring this bloody ass.


End file.
